Page 267 - Essentials of Nursing Leadership and Management, 5th Edition

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254 unit 3 | Professional Issues CikguOnline
Nursing in the Future The following are some specific actions you can
take to exert leadership in improving health care:
Within the nursing profession, there is much work
to do. Cohen (2007) addressed the issue of the ■ Learn more about the health-care system and
image that many nurses present to their public. your role in it.
One is professional appearance and behavior. She ■ Join your professional association and specialty
quotes Dumont on the question of dress, particu- associations and support their efforts to improve
larly wearing uniforms covered with cartoon char- care.
acters: “You’re the only thing between the patient ■ Talk with everyone and anyone who will listen.
and death, and you’re covered in cartoons. No won- ■ Write letters to the editor, speak on local radio
der you have no authority.”The following are some and television programs, and participate in
additional suggestions to improve nursing’s image: online discussions.
■ Speak to local, state, and national representatives
■ Always introduce yourself as a nurse.
about these concerns.
■ Define professional appearance appropriate to
your workplace, and enforce it. In summary,be “visible and vocal”in your support of
■ Define professional behavior, and enforce it. nursing and improved health care (ANA, 2008a).
■ Take every opportunity to speak to the public
about nursing. Conclusion
■ Document what nurses do and how important
As nursing moves forward in the 21st century, the
they are (Cohen, 2007).
need for courageous and innovative nurse leaders is
What else can nurses do? It is important that greater than ever. Society’s demand for high-quality
more members of minority groups be brought health care at an affordable cost is a contemporary
into nursing so that nursing better reflects force for change.
the increasing diversity of the population. Nurses began in hospitals,moved to the commu-
Collaboration with colleagues in other health nity, moved back into the hospitals, and are now
professions is also vital to improving health care. seeing a move back to the community. Men were
Physicians, therapists, social workers, psycholo- the earliest nurses, then left the profession and have
gists, aides, assistants, and technicians are con- now returned, bringing with them new ideas and
cerned about the quality of care provided. Patients leadership abilities. Nursing has become as diversi-
and their families are also concerned and person- fied as the populations it serves. You will be the
ally affected by the quality of care provided. All Nightingales, Walds, Sangers, Mahoneys, Montags,
these groups together would have a stronger voice and Hendersons of the future; the creativity and
in health-care reform. dedication of these nurses are part of everyone.

Study Questions

1. Read Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not by Florence Nightingale. How much of its
content is still true today?

2. If Margaret Sanger were alive, how do you think she would view the issue of teaching school-
children about AIDS?
3. What do you think Lillian Wald would say about the status of hospitals and health care today?

4. How do you think Florence Nightingale would deal with a physician who is verbally abusive to
the nursing staff?
5. If you had been Margaret Sanger, would you have decided to stop teaching women about birth
control? Explain your answer.